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Dolphin In the Tree

The man had always seen the dolphin in his tree…he never had a doubt
and using a chain saw when that live oak died…he let that dolphin out.

You see his parents used to love the stars…they’d sit for hours enjoying the view
and through the myths and legends they told to him….he learned to love them too.

But of all the stories they related…none of them was greater 
than the one about the constellation Delphinus…
(found just north of the equator).

This story took place a long time ago…in the 7th century BC:
It seems Arion, a wealthy court musician, was on his way back from Sicily.

when the crew of the ship he was on…unconcerned for Arion’s health
conspired against the musician…to relieve him of his wealth.

The crew offered Arion a choice…with no place for him to flee…
they would kill him where he stood or he could fling himself into the sea.

Deciding to throw himself overboard…and knowing he didn’t have long
Arion asked his captors…if he could sing a song.

So beautiful was his singing…so sad and hypnotic to the ear
that a pod of dolphins out of nowhere gathered round…to hear.

and when Arion finally flung himself into the sea…according to folklore
a dolphin, charmed by the beauty of his singing, carried him to shore….

The God, Apollo, as a reward for saving Arion from a certain death at sea
found that dolphin a place among the stars…for all eternity.

Today that man continues to see that dolphin 
as he enjoys the stars in an evening breeze
and he no longer wonders why he also sees them
among the rocks, in the clouds…in the trees…

For he knows it goes back to those quiet nights
and the part his parents played in his creation...
in opening of a young boy’s mind
and the birth of his imagination.

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